What A Story
by isitreallyevenpossible
Summary: This is first and foremost not a love story; it's a story about people. People who changed the world one kiss at a time. People who fought and kissed and studied and laughed and screamed and hated and fell in love. Because they did fall in love, eventually. This is the story of James and Lily. And boy, what a story.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **I know I know. Not another Mauraders!Era James and Lily/ Jily fic. What are you thinking Clara! It's all been done before. And I admit, dear reader, there are _a lot_ of fics about James and Lily falling in love. But it is not just about James and Lily, it's about their friends and Voldemorts uprising. Though it is mainly a Jily story, I admit. But bear with me, I hope this will be good to read.

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Chapter 1: Prologue

Once upon a time there lived a little girl, who grew up to be a woman, who grew up to save the world. Sort of.

Once upon a time there lived a little boy, who grew up to be a man, who grew up to save the world. Sort of.

This might sound like your average fairytale. Two people met, they fell in love, they got married and had a kid. They defeated the villain and saved their son. But this was not a fairytale. This was not the tale of the ideal fighting through adversity to triumph.

The boy was not a prince, he was far from perfect. He was selfish and arrogant and brilliant and extraordinary and he fell in love.

The girl was not a princess, she was far from perfect. Though not everyone agreed. She was stubborn and fierce and clever and kind and beautiful and she fell in love.

He believed she was a princess. He told her so himself, one night when they were far from love and far from hate. She was adamant she was not, and she was right. She was so much better than that.

Because she was Lily Evans and he was James Potter.

James loved Lily. Lily loved James.

But it wasn't enough.

This is first and foremost not a love story; it's a story about people. People who changed the world one kiss at a time. People who fought and kissed and studied and laughed and screamed and hated and fell in love. Because they did fall in love, eventually. This is the story of James and Lily. And boy, what a story.

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**A/N: **Intriguing? Amirite!  
Okay, maybe not. But I'm hoping you're liking it so far. Mysterious reader. And I'm gonna go ahead and post the second chapter right now (Which is a hell of a lot longer). I mean it's written already so why not.

Clara x

P.S Reviews are the only thing that cheer me up on a bad day.


	2. Nothing but a Mudblood

**A/N: **In case you were wondering (which you weren't) none a this belongs to me. Reviews make me happy

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Chapter 2: Nothing But a Mudblood

The sunlight beat down upon the pale walls of semi-detached house residing in a quiet area of northern England. This house was entirely ordinary, a rather neat little garden attached to a patio. Compact but pleasant with the sweetly designed living room and slightly decrepit with its peeling paint and appliances that always seem to be on the fritz.

All together completely normal, no one would look at it and believe anything extraordinary would be happening. And they would be utterly right.

For it wasn't the events that made it extraordinary: it was the people.

Curled up on the bed in the smallest bedroom in that very house was Miss Lily Marie Evans. And she was the most extraordinary person you could think of, but she didn't know that yet. In fact, Lily Evans felt herself to be quite average, about from the teeny tiny fact that she was a witch.

A witch who was currently reading the same letter over and over again in the hopes that the small knot of guilt in the pit of her stomach would subside: she was having no such luck yet.

_Dear Lily,_

_I miss you. And I know I've said that before and I know you said it doesn't make a difference but I do. I really do, and you not caring doesn't make any difference._

_I'm sorry. And I've said that before and I know you said it doesn't make a difference. You not caring makes it hurt more. Because I am sorry Lils, more than you know. _

_But what you do know is that I didn't mean it. I don't think that, come on Lily! You know that I could never think that. It was just, just. Just bloody Potter and his arsey mates forced me to. Their bullying brought me to the edge._

_Blame Potter for this if you want to, that bloody arrogant self loving face shoved up his own arse twat ponce pratty little git. You know that I love you Lily, we're best friends. I know you're mad. I know nothing makes a difference. But I just want it to. Why can't it LIls? Why can't you let it?_

_Please write back, just, just to let me know you're okay. You can't hate me forever Lily, I know you can't._

_Sev,_

Each time she read the letter she could feel the fresh wave of tears ready to come and pull her under. Each time she read it she was back _there_, with the sun beating down on her as she watched her best friend destroy their relationship. All by calling her a mudblood.

That word, it echoed in her brain. Mudblood. Mudblood. She was nothing but stinking, filthy mudblood.

Suddenly, it was like the switch for anger had suddenly been turned on in her brain, her heart beat so fast it filled her ears and her pain thrived on the sound of it

She grabbed a nearby piece of parchment and quill, the anger masking the guilt that churned in the pit of her stomach as she wrote.

_Severus,_

_You're right Severus, it doesn't make a difference and it can't. Nobody forced you to say what you said. It can't and won't make a difference Sev, no matter how hard you try._

_You chose your path, now I'm choosing mine._

_Please stop writing, next time I won't reply._

_Lily._

Before she could stop and over-think it, she grabbed her owl Isis and attached the note. Knowing that whatever consequences it brought she would be ready.

And boy did it bring consequences, but more on that later.

{}

James Potter was another of those extraordinary people, and he knew it. Maybe he didn't know quite to what extent he was extraordinary, had no idea what part he would play in shaping the future. But he knew he had a part to play, and that's what mattered.

"Sirius I don't understand your fixation on going to that bloody party." Said James, lazily watching the snitch in his hand struggle feebly.

"Because I don't want to sit around miserable for the rest of the summer like you all seem content to." He gestured towards the rest of the marauders, all in various slumped states in James's bedroom.

"You know the real reason James doesn't want to go Padfoot." Remus interjected, looking pointedly at James moody face as he tossed the snitch up and down.

"Not Lily again Prongs." Groaned Sirius, "If we go we can make sure she never even knows we're there." A calculated look graced his face, a look that never meant anything good with Sirius.

"Wow Sirius, you've never sounded more like a creepy, perverted serial killer." Remus joked, looking up from the book he wasn't really reading.

"What?" Sirius protested, "It's for her _and_ his own good."

"That's what a serial killer would say."

"I am not a serial killer!"

"That's what a-"But before Remus could finish his sentence and large projectile flew into his face.

"Well in Padfoot." Chuckled Peter, lounging in the corner of the room.

Remus glared at him and picked up two cushions nearby, flinging one at Peter and Sirius. Peter laughed, deflecting the cushion with his arm. Sirius used his quick skills as a Quidditch player to catch the cushion, but instead of flinging it at Remus (which was expected) he placed it next to him and gave a mischievous grin.

"Ladies, Ladies! Please let us return to the problem at hand, James's refusal to party with us." Sirius dramatically swept his hand across the scene, and glared at James, waiting for his response.

"It has nothing to do with Evans!" Sighed James, removing his gaze from the snitch and shoving it in his pocket. "Those parties are just so, so... Juvenile!"

"Oooohhh Juvenile, it seems Prongs has outgrown us Padfoot." Cried Peter.

"Ickle-Jamesie poo is too mature for little old us!" Sirius laughed.

"Oh shut up," James replied, sitting up from his slouched position. "I don't want to go and that's final. Now who wants a game of Quidditch?"

{}

"Please shut up." Lily sighed, not bothering to look up from the battered paperback she was perusing.

"But I didn't say anything." Protested Ana, widening her eyes for emphasis and gesturing wildly with her hands.

"But you were about to." Elaborated Lily, looking up from her book with a look of long suffering plastered across her face.

"Listen Lily," Ana began, slowly as if she was testing the waters.

"I told you before I don't want to go." Lily interrupted, the book now discarded at her side.

"Oh come on Lil, live a little."

I do not count Natalie Clarke's End of Summer party as living." Each word dripped with sarcasm.

"Fine." Pouted Ana, and for one short, victorious second Lily thought she had won. "We'll put it down to a vote."

"Aw Ana, no." Lily whined, "You know that Mary will just side with you."

"That is because me and Mary are soul animals, and also because she and I quote 'Has been going crazy bored with her boring Aunt Agatha and her insane cousins.'"

"I don't know how she stands it." The redhead admitted.

"And I don't know how you stand your toad of a sister. I mean Merlin knows I would have cracked by now." Ana sighed, flopping down onto the bed next to her.

"She's not always that bad." Lily allowed, looking down at her hands as she thought about her difficult sister. "Just with the wedding planning and all, she's gone a little crazy."

"If that's what you call a little crazy, I don't wanna know what majorly crazy is." Came a voice from the doorway.

"Mary!" Ana shrieked, springing from the bed to attack the girl with a gigantic hug.

"Well I realise you missed me but geez." Mary said, wriggling out of the brunette's firm grip, pausing only to flash them both a sparkling grin. "Okay, know who's got the fire whiskey because I'm seriously done with the summer I've been having." Dramatically she flung herself onto the bed, occupying the space that Lily and Ana had just vacated.

Ana flashed a triumphant smile at Lily, who just rolled her eyes right back. "So, what's up?"

"You do not want to spend longer than five seconds with my family." Began Mary, "I mean, I love my mum and dad but that's about it. I had to spend the whole time listening to my dear aunty about how I'd get all the boys if I would just loose a couple of pounds." Mary was the time of girl who had real curves, there wasn't fat on her body but she had a shape and it was the bane of her existence most of the time. And apparently her family.

"Doesn't you're aunty weigh like millions of pounds?" Asked Ana.

"Exactly." Mary cried, sitting up straight and gesturing wildly with her hands. If you could say one thing about Mary, it's that she never does anything by half.

"Please," Lily scoffed. "You're aunt just trying to live vicariously through you, because you're gorgeous and young and she's an ugly, old hag. And you're the one that's a witch."

"I suppose." Mary conceded, not sounding entirely convinced.

"Who cares!" Ana cried, grabbing Mary's arms and pulling her up into a crazy spin, they erupted into giggles. "Tonight we are going to get hammered and then dance and find ourselves some sexy boys to pay us some well deserved attention."

"Eurgh, Marlene hasn't arrived yet so we'll see. I really don't want to go guys, okay?"

And that was that. For now.

{}

James stepped into the bathroom, his muscles giving off a satisfying ache from the Quidditch work out. He flexed his arm, relishing in the tense feeling he found there. Usually he felt a euphoric afterglow when he'd done exercise, but he'd been in a foul mood all summer.

Though he'd refused to admit it to Sirius, it was partially (mostly) due to a certain fiery redhead he'd been in love with since forever.

It wasn't unusual for Lily to scream at him, or shout at him or put him down. In fact, it was a normal occurrence for Lily to turn him down as much as once a day. But, he couldn't stop replaying it over and over and over in his mind.

He could almost hear Lily in his head, shouting him down, her wand pointed directly at him. He couldn't work out what made this time so different, what made each word she'd said reverberate in her mind. _"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid,"_

Really, it was nothing she hadn't said before, but each time he could write it up some force that he couldn't control. It was always something else: Lily being stubborn, Lily being conceited, the Marauders messing it up or Lily's relationship with Snivellus.

This time, he didn't feel like he could blame it on outside forces. Of course, normally he would blame Snape for Lily's brutal rejection. And he was mad at Snape, just the very mention of his name sent his blood boiling as he recalled the look on Lily's face when he had... had said – that.

But some part of him had to accept that her rejection wasn't _entirely_ Snape's fault. That, in some way, it might be James's.

He closed his eyes, watching the scene replay once more, trying to see what was so different about Lily in that moment. And suddenly, he had it. Her green eyes, shinning with anger, beautiful in her anger, they really meant was she was saying. All those other times, she had told him she hated him, there was always a little part of her that didn't really.

But as she had glared at him, the light filtering through the tree and making her more devastatingly beautiful that James would like to admit, he could see in her eyes that she hated him with every fibre of her being.

And it was entirely his fault.

"Prongs." Called Peter from the other side of the bathroom door. "Get your shower quickly! Sirius is intent on this party James. We're going."

"Eugh." James moaned, running a hand through his sweat dampened hair.

He dreaded the party; he dreaded the chance that he would have to see Lily again. He knew he shouldn't let someone dictate what he did, but he was not ready to deal with her judgemental gaze again.

Still, something seemed to draw him to the party. Like a deluded moth to a flame, he was drawn towards her, he _wanted_ to see her. He knew that no matter how much he moaned to Padfoot, he would go. He would go and simultaneous avoid and look for that flame.

"Hurry up James!" Sirius moaned through the door.

That was that. He was going to the party and it was going to be hell.

{}

Marlene Wright was lying on the end of her bed, knowing that she was going to be late to meeting her friends and not really caring. A small, creased photograph was being neatened and then crumpled over and over in the palm of her small hand.

It was an ordinary muggle photograph, filled with creases that would never been undone from weeks of opening and folding it. It was made of thick, creamy paper. Obviously high quality. It was fairly old too, but any remnants of dust were none gone from it as Marlene stared the solitary image.

She'd been doing the same thing for many nights on end, and it didn't seem like it was going to stop anytime soon.

A little girl, with straight sleek blonde hair smiled brightly at the camera in only the way little kids can. She had her short, arms wrapped around of a taller, slightly sheepish looking boy. They must have been around the same age, maybe he was a year older; he looked down at the girl with obvious admiration in his dark brown eyes. They looked happy, young and carefree. The epitome of childhood sweethearts.

Marlene sighed, shoving the photograph in her pocket for the five hundredth time that night. She could hear the pitter patter of her little half brother and sister and closed her eyes, hoping that if she wished hard enough they would just leave her alone.

Though she only saw them when she returned home for the holidays she felt an intense dislike for her two younger siblings, she knew of course that she was being somewhat irrational. Really, she disliked them because she disliked her stepfather. And no wonder.

Her own father had left them when she was just a baby, leaving her muggle mum and her alone. So it had of course come as a shock when Marlene received her Hogwarts letter. That was where the real trouble with her stepdad lay. He had not been very accepting that Marlene was a witch. At first he convinced her mum to hide the letter from Marlene, a very astute kid Marlene knew something was up.

Eventually they had a visit from a teacher, concerned that they hadn't acknowledge the letter or set a date for a talk with a professor. It was Professor McGonagall that came, which ensured that Marlene had a soft spot for the transfiguration teacher and head of house.

Her stepfather however, had felt a little differently.

After McGonagall had proven she was a witch by turning into a cat and back, then transfiguring a nearby cushion into a rabbit, things had gone downhill. Her stepdad had threatened to set her on fire and see if she burned at the stake. It went entirely out of hand and ended with Marlene being thrown into her room and barricaded in. That would go on to be The Worst Night of Her Life. Until the real Worst Night of Her Life.

Finally, her mum won the long, weary battle and Marlene was to be sent to Hogwarts with no expense spared for her trip. Her stepfather had to agree, after all, her mum was pregnant with the twins. They couldn't have a witch in the house. She still remembered what he'd said to her: the night before she'd left for her first year.

_(Midnight)_

_Marlene had been having trouble sleeping, tossing and turning inside the thin fabric as thoughts about the next day overwhelmed her. She cracked open an eye, watching the moonlight filter in through the chinks in her blind. The look of it soothed her, as she drifted off thinking about silver and magic and the deep night sky._

_It must only have been a few minutes later, or maybe hours, when she felt a rough hand shaking her awake. She flinched away, gasping as she woke up with the hand still gripped tight around her forearm._

"_Wake up." The man hissed, jerking her arm harshly_

"_I'm awake." Marlene whispered back, trying to scoot further away from the man she was forced to call dad._

"_Listen to me." His voice was low and urgent, his eyes darting around as if looking for someone to catch him out. "Your mother might be okay with you, but I am not."_

_Marlene simply blinked at him, too scared to reply._

"_I'm telling you this right now young lady. Whoever you are, you are not a member of my family. You, you—you are – a creature! And I do not want you in my house. You stay away from my family and I will stay away from you." He tightened his grip on her arm, pulling her upwards so she was forced to look him in the eye. "Got it?" _

"_Yes." Marlene whimpered, hating the feeling of helplessness that washed over her._

"_You'll be spending all your holidays there right. And don't talk to your mother about this, this is our secret."_

"_Our secret." She agreed, anything to get him to leave her alone. _

_The worst thing about it was how much she could see that he really believed it. He believed that she was some sort of monster; there was no doubt in his mind that she was a threat to his family that needed to be controlled. That's what hurt the most; he thought he knew the truth, but he was so deluded. It was almost too much for eleven year old Marlene to handle._

And from that day onwards she viewed Hogwarts as her chance to escape, spending Christmas in the great hall or sometimes with her friends, but never at home. As the years went by her mother learned to not beg and plead and ask for Marlene to come home to visit. The twins grew up and required more and more of her attention, so Marlene learned to slip in and out of the home as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Unfortunately, summer holidays were sort of unavoidable. Occasionally she spent time with Mary but after Mary's dad died her mum had gone a little family crazy, so every holiday they were shipped off to different relatives. She loved going to Lily's too, but Petunia had been ramping up the wedding plans which made it extremely uncomfortable to be in the same household as that manic wizard-hating muggle. There was Ana too, but Ana had that crazy mother. Besides, Marlene and Ana tended to clash quite a lot: especially without Lily to diffuse the situation.

So here she was, trying to pretend she was somewhere else. Somewhere happier. Somewhere inside that torn photograph resting inside her pockets. Closing her eyes, she let the memory of when she received the photograph wash over her.

_(One Month Previous)_

_Marlene lay on her bed, bored and exhausted but for what reason she could not say. The warm weather always seemed to make her languid, and currently all she felt prepared for was to lounge in the sun. A transfiguration book lay open at her side, lazily she read through a few passages. Her mind was not focusing on the task at hand, which was unusual as Marlene was a bit of a control freak when it came to studies. Something was holding her back that day, so all she could do is flick through a couple of pages. The words just washing over her._

"_Marlene, there's someone here to see you." Her mother called, sounding very harassed which surely meant she was wrestling with one of the twins. "Stop it Jade! You too Jacob!"_

_Surprised at the unexpected visitor Marlene sat up, assuming it was just Lily or Mary or maybe even Ana there to visit. She wasn't even sure whether or not they made plans and she had simple forgotten about them. Therefore she made no effort to hide her wizarding books or the quills, or even the half eaten box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans on her bedside table. _

_But it wasn't Mary or Lily or even Ana._

_He knocked on the door first, but didn't wait for a response before bounding in. He was a tall boy, around the same age as Marlene, but he was long and lanky with dark auburn hair and a small smattering of freckles across his nose. His eyes were deep brown and twinkling at her now, his mouth sliding into an easy grin; it was the sort of face that looked like it was made for smiling or laughing._

"_Remember me Marley?" He asked, his voice light and carefree. _

_She sat there in shock for a few seconds, before scrambling to shove her books and quills down the bed and out of sight, her eyes darted around to see if any clues to her other life was evident but it was too late now anyway. And she couldn't see anything too obvious. Satisfied she leaped off the bed and ran to give the new arrival and huge hug. _

"_I can't believe it! Charlie!" She cried, laughing as he hugged her back fiercely. _

"_It's great to see you again Marley." He said, utterly sincerely as she stepped backwards._

"_You know, no one calls me Marley anymore." Marlene said, the first genuine smile on her face since the summer holidays had began. _

"_And nobody calls me Charlie!" He exclaimed, his entire face was alive with energy._

"_Really?" She replied, cocking an eyebrow._

"_Well maybe I lied." He admitted, shrugging with his entire body. "But who cares eh Marley?"_

"_It's Marlene. Thank you very much."_

"_Old habits die hard." He joked, sticking a hand in his pocket. "So how is boarding school?"_

_Marlene coughed to hide the awkwardness that just materialised, this was the sort of conversation she was dreading."It's erm—Yanno... School. Except i live there! Haha, erm- Good friends though... Stil, schools school. Oh er- I already said that."_

_He gave an odd smirk at her but his easy nature meant he ignored the strange answer and weird tension in the air and persevered. "Well, we haven't seen each other since... Well, since we were about ten wasn't it?" _

"_Must have been." Marlene conceded. _

"_I've missed you Mar." He smiled, lolloping across her bed. "We were best friends."_

"_I know." She sighed, moving to sit next to him. "But with school. And I never really come home." _

"_Hmm." He nodded, picking up the open carton and popping a jelly bean in his mouth. He spat it out, spluttering as he tried to scrape the taste from his mouth. "Jeez, they really mean every flavour."_

"_Ha. Ha." Marlene laughed rather stiltedly, the panic welling in her chest. "Yes er- they're- ermm. They're joke sweets! That's right, joke sweets! Me and my friends get a kick out of them."_

"_Just as odd now as you were then!" He laughed, throwing a bean at her._

"_Was there a reason you turned up today?" Marlene asked, deflecting the bean and shooting him a look of mock annoyance._

"_There was actually." He said, lighting up like he'd just remembered something. He wiggled his hands inside his jean pockets, pulling out a few sheets of paper and a worn photograph. "Mum was cleaning out the loft and found some of our old rubbish." He shrugged like her opinion on it might not matter to him. "Just some letters and a photo. Remember Marley, sorry, Marlene. When we used to give letters to our parents to pass to each other. As if we couldn't just have knocked at each other's houses."_

"_Course I remember you prat." She sighed, grabbing the paper and photo and whacking him with it. _

"_Ooof." He cried, "You really know how to hit a man where it hurts Wright." _

"_You thought that hurt Charlie? You're weaker than I thought." _

"_Never!" He shouted, standing up and running across to Marlene and attack hugging her._

"_Get off!" She cried, laughing too and shoving him. So much like old times. _

"_Alright. Alright." He said, putting his hands up as a form of surrender. "I er, actually have to go." _

"_Oh right." Marlene said, suddenly awkward and flustered._

"_You know, packing for holidays and family duty." He shrugged, but suddenly the atmosphere had changed dramatically._

"_Of course." She said. "Bye Charlie."_

_He reached out for a hug, and she smiled softly, reaching forward to hug him back. She inhaled his familiar scent, so different yet so similar. Marveling at the softness of his tshirt, she felt someplace in her heart ache as she recognised the ease of their relationship was gone. Here was a boy she hadn't seen for many years, and she couldn't even tell him the truth. There was no future in a friendship with muggles. She had to let him go. _

"_Bye Charlie." She said again._

"_Bye Marley." He replied. "I'll see you soon, yeah?" When I'm back?"_

"_Maybe." She smiled, a little wistfully. _

_And with one last wink and a hug: he was gone. _

She'd opened the little bundle of papers he'd left a little later, old remnants from their childhood stared back at her. Her were the letters he'd been talking about, childish scribbles about imaginary adventures and when they'd meet to play next. She hadn't thought about Charlie in a long time, but from that day forward she couldn't think of anything but. Best friends they'd been. She couldn't even get through one conversation with him without her being a witch forming a barrier of awkward. Without her heart constricting in panic that she would be caught.

For that day forward, there was a decree laid down in the Wright household. Charlie McKinnon was not allowed inside the house, any excuse in the book was to be used to ensure that Marlene was to be left alone. Her stepdad was more than happy to oblige, thinking the less contact Marlene had with "normal" people the less likely she was to harm them. She rolled her eyes at that, but for once was grateful that his insane prejudices were working to her advantage.

Sighing she rolled of the bed, feeling the photographs presence burning in her pocket. She may have accepted that they couldn't be friends, but she was clinging to a past relationship they'd once had. A time when she wasn't bound by what she was. She looked at the clock on the wall, noting that she was going to be quite late arriving at Ana's. Shaking herself from her foul mood, she grabbed her things. She knew that things would only get worse the longer she waited; she fled the house avoiding contact with the rest of the family. Slowly she made her way along the street to an old witches house where she knew she could flew to Ana's.

Her mind was occupied with other thoughts. Thoughts of boys, first kisses, playing outside and an old, worn photograph in her back pocket.

{}

When James emerged from his shower, his hair messier than usual with each strand standing up in eight different directions, he found his friends eating toast at the kitchen table with his mother.

"Mrs Potter, may I say you're toast is absolutely divine!" Sirius cried dramatically, shoving another piece in his mouth.

"For the last time Sirius, you're practically my son, just call me Evelyn. Or even Eve." She smiled warmly. "That goes for all of you."

"Thanks Mrs P—I mean Evelyn." Peter said, grabbing some more food too.

James swung in a grabbed himself some too, before it all disappeared down either Sirius or Peter's throat.

"Hello James." His mum said, reaching over to ruffle his hair.

"Gerroff." James scowled, ducking out of her touch and then grinning, munching on the crust in victory.

"Manners, James." His mum trilled.

He stuck his tongue out playfully at her and she smiled, knowing she should probably reprimand him but knowing that she wouldn't. "So what's this I hear about you going to a party?"

James's entire expression dropped immediately, as he turned his glare at Sirius who just shrugged innocently. "Forced to go to a party." He corrected grudgingly.

"Knew you'd come around Prongs." Pete said, clapping him on the back.

James simply growled and turned his attention back to the piece of toast he was munching on.

"Well don't get too drunk." Evelyn Potter chided.

"Muuummmm." James moaned, "We aren't going to get drunk, we're only sixteen."

"I wasn't born yesterday you know boys." She grinned, "Though I may look like it." It was true that Evelyn Potter did not look her age. Far from it. She had a tall willowy frame, which looked made only to perform the most graceful of movements. Her face was well sculpted, all soft angles and high cheekbones. All framed by soft layers of ash blonde hair, which fell to mid way down her back. Her eyes were her most distinctive features, almost golden ochre colour that glimmered in the light. She was undeniably beautiful, even for her age.

"I'm trusting you Remus, to keep them in check." She nodded at the most sensible of the marauders.

"Of course Mrs Potter—Erm, Evelyn, wouldn't dream of letting them get out of hand." He grinned wolfishly.

"You can trust us m'am." Sirius said, throwing her a mock salute and clicking his heels together.

"Stand down soldier," Mrs Potter replied, reaching over to give her son a kiss on his forehead. He squirmed but hugged her tight back. "I'll be right upstairs if you need me." She promised, sweeping out of the kitchen and through the hall. "Oh and you can call Sookie if you need anything."

Suddenly a house elf appeared before them, dressed in a bright white pillow case with the potter crest stitched onto the front of it. "Somebody called masters." The house elf spoke, in high reedy tones.

"We're fine for now thanks Sookie." James said cheerfully, he had a special place for Sookie the house elf, who'd been there since he could remember and was always there for him. The first time James was rejected, when he was ten by a local neighbourhood girl, Sookie had been there with a plate of cookies and an ear to listen. When he'd broken his arm for the first time, playing Quidditch of course, Sookie had been there to bandage him up and hide the evidence from his worrying mother. Sookie was always there, and as far as James was aware, always would be.

James wasn't really aware of much.

"Now," Sirius clapped his hands together. "What's the game plan for tonight?"

"Well I know that you're planning on sleeping with our most generous hostess." Remus joked sarcastically.

"How would you dare accuse me of such things?" Sirius asked, his voice the picture of fake outrage.

"Pretty obvious Padfoot." Chipped in James, a scowl still in his voice.

"They all speak the truth." Peter joined in.

"You've been trying to get into Natalie Clarke's pants for the past two parties we've been to." Remus interjected a chuckle in his voice.

"You've got to admit she's gorgeous though."

"It's the only reason you've been so bloody insistent about going to this damn party." James grumbled, the annoyance shining through in his expression.

"For Merlin's sake James, cheer the hell up!" Sirius shouted good heartedly. "We're going to a party. You like parties. We'll just get some fire whiskey in you and you'll be fine."

He mumbled something undistinguishable; the others just ignored him and continued to chat around mouthfuls of cold toast.

...

"And so then..." Peter spluttered, in the midst of telling an exaggerated story about a summer adventure in muggle London. "Then... She said... said." He was laughing too much to continue. "She said "Well it isn't my egg salad!"

The marauders all burst into laughter; even James gave a little laugh (though that had more to do with Peter's unwarranted fits of uncontainable laughter and enthusiasm.)

"Mum had to obliviate the sales woman while she wasn't looking." Peter finished up, breathing heavily from all the merriment.

"Jeez Wormtail, can't leave you alone for more than one second can we?" Teased Remus, giving Peter a little shove.

"Oy, I'm mightily offended at that!" Peter cried.

"Face it Pete, he's got a point." Sirius chuckled.

"I think all of us need supervision, except Moony." James said.

"And he's back!" Sirius exclaimed, patting him on the back.

"Goddamn you Padfoot. Fine." He grudgingly accepted. "But if anything goes wrong or the party is terrible then I'm blaming you.

"Course Prongs, sounds like fair terms." Sirius agreed, offering his hand to shake.

For years to come, Sirius would regret agreeing to that.

{}

Marlene gracefully exited the fireplace, a feat that had took many, many years of practice to get right. For that's what Marlene did, anything she couldn't control she would work out until she had it down.

She could hear the sounds of voices and laughter drifting from upstairs, knowing that that was probably where her friends resided. A small, stout house elf stood by the large wooden door. She was an odd creature, with little tufts of white hair sprouting from her ears and even nose. She was stooped an old but her expression seemed happy as she looked at the girl who'd just come shooting out the fireplace.

"Hello. Mistress Ana and the other girls are upstairs in Mistress's bedroom." The old house elf croaked. "Would you like me to show you the way Miss?"

"No thank you, Kora." Marlene smiled at the little, creature. "How's Abra doing?" Referring to the house elf's sweet husband who had been ill for quite some time.

"He is fine thank you Miss." Replied Kora, politely enough, but Marlene could tell it made her uncomfortable to be questioned by her "Mistress's" friend. Marlene could relate, it was one of the reason she liked talking to house elves whenever she came into contact with them: it gave them no opportunity for anyone to ask her questions she might not want to answer.

"Okay, well I'll see you later Kora." Said Marlene, giving a little awkward wave and heading upstairs towards the sound of the voices.

"Good bye Miss." Kora murmured, a few seconds later when Marlene was nearly out of ear shot.

Marlene gave a soft, smile as she heard the house elf wander away, stepping up the creaking ornate steps towards her friends. As much as she hadn't wanted to leave them before, as much as she'd wanted to sit and wallow on her bead, the closer she got to them the more she wanted to see them.

"You are such a prat Analeigh Urquart!" Lily cried, the noise echoing down the corridor.

Marlene laughed to herself as she approached the door, knowing that Lily had probably thrown some sort of projectile at Ana. She hadn't realised until just then how much she missed her friends, even Ana who could act like an absolute superior bitch sometimes.

Marlene knocked tentatively on the door but they didn't seem to hear, so she just pushed the door open. Mary was sat on the edge of the couch, laughing hysterically, laughing so hard that she almost fell off the chair. Lily and Ana were in the centre of the room, circling each other with a pillow clutched in their hands.

"Well." Marlene said, "I seem to have walked in at the wrong moment."

"Mar!" Lily cried, dropping her pillow immediately and throwing herself at the blonde stood awkwardly in the doorway.

Ana rolled her eyes a bit but grudgingly dropped the cushion and gave the new arrival a quick hug, whilst Mary acted similarly as enthusiastic as Lily. Jumping from her seat and giving Marlene a big squeeze.

"Suffocating." Marlene choked.

"Shut up." Mary said, shoving her in the stomach, and causing her to double over with laughter and fake pain.

"Right!" Ana cried, clapping her hands together to get everyone's attention. "Now that we are all present let's get to the matter at hand." Lily rolled her eyes but sat down, waiting for Ana to continue. Mary looked completely unbothered by Ana and instead looked rather bored; taking to just examining her nails. All these reactions just led to a very confused Marlene.

"The Party." Ana's eyes sparkled at the words, as she clapped her hands together once more. "Are you in or are you out Wright?"

Marlene looked around. Saw, Ana waiting impatiently with her hand positioned against her sharp hip. Mary still looked slightly bored, but she smiled encouragingly at Marlene, as if willing her with her eyes to just say yes. Lily was much more active, shaking her head to indicate no and miming cutting her throat vigorously.

Then she felt the photograph crinkle in her pocket, saw herself saying no and going home only to reminisce painfully. Maybe alcohol and watching her James moon over Lily would be what she needed. "Sure, party."

Ana pumped her fists in triumph, doing a small victory dance as Mary looked just like she knew what the outcome would be all along. Lily, however, looked absolute devastated.

"Marlene!" She complained, "I thought I could count on you!"

"What can I say?" Marlene shrugged, "It's been a rough summer."

"That's my girl!" Ana cried, in a moment of uncharacteristically companionable behaviour, as she flung her arm around Marlene's shoulder. "Let's wash away this crappy summer with alcohol!"

"You guys are such idiots." Moaned Lily, but sighed moved over to join in the group hug. Just as Mary did, although Lily did it much more reluctantly.

"And when it all blows up in our faces..." Lily said as she pulled away from the other girls. "You'll only have each other to blame."

"It's not gonna blow up in our faces." Mary sighed, rolling her eyes at Lily's over cautiousness.

"It will." Lily nodded confidently. "I just have a bad feeling about this.

{}

Lily was not always right, but she was_ often_ right. This meant most people listened to her. Usually but not always. This was one of those times that Lily Evans was very, very right. And another night when nobody listened when they should have.

That was the first night Lily could see thestrals.

* * *

**A/N**DUN DUN DUUUUUUUU

Again, I love those reviews ;)

Clara x


	3. Stuck

**A/N:**Again with the whole I am not J K Rowling spiel because I quite clearly am not. Here's the next frankly gargantuant chapter! I haven't taken too long to update, I hope.

* * *

Chapter 3: Stuck

Analeigh breathed in, at least she thought she did, it was sort of hard to tell. If it was air it was extremely thick and clung to the back of her throat, it also tasted vaguely of cigarettes but she wasn't sure if she'd just smoked one so it didn't cause her too much concern.

She also wasn't entirely aware if she was stood up or sat down, though that was less of a concern and more of an odd, amusing curiosity. A giggle passed her lips and she opened her eyes wide in surprise, she didn't remember allowing it out of her mouth but there it was.

She was on around about her third drink or was it the fourth? Maybe even the fifth. She'd lost track right around the time that cute Hufflepuff fifth year had started talking to her. At least, she thought he was a Hufflepuff; he had that sort of _Hufflepuffy _look about him. Anyway, that didn't really matter right at that minute with the world spinning around her and her hand planted firmly on his arm.

She wasn't really sure that she would be able to stand if she removed her hand from him. Anyway, she _liked _his arm: it was soft and firm. It held her steady in a time when the rest of the party seemed to be swimming in and out of focus. And so what if she didn't like his voice? She was managing to tune that out pretty well; she saw his lips move in slow motion but no words hit her eardrums.

Blissful silence. She threw her head back laughing once more, clutching on tighter as she wobbled in her insane heels, this only caused her to laugh harder which influenced Mr Fifth year Hufflepuff to laugh too.

Maybe one more drink wouldn't hurt, came the singular thought from the jumbled mess that was her drunken thoughts. And suddenly she found a shot of fire whiskey in her hand and then down her throat.

{}

Lily watched her friend cling to a frankly slimy looking boy she recognised from the year below and rolled her eyes. "_Such a lightweight" _The redhead thought, watching as Ana nearly fell straight into the punch bowl only to be caught at the last minute by the fifth year. Providing him with a great view down her top to her cleavage.

Lily clenched her fist around her plastic cup, watching as he slipped his arm around her clearly inebriated friend and stick his slimy tongue down her ear. Ana looked almost as if she wasn't really aware where she was, which could quite possibly be true.

She couldn't stand watching her friend be quite clearly taken advantage off, that little creep would not get what he was after, not with a determined Lily in his way.

"Hello." Lily said cooly, stalking over to where her friend and her pervert stood.

"Erm Hi." The could-be-Hufflepuff replied, flicking his eyes away from Ana's chest for about five seconds before returning his gaze to her admittedly quite ample bosom.

"Lily!" Ana cried, her words slurring. She flung her arm around Lily's neck and pulled her closer. "Come join us!" She shrieked, practically shattering Lily's eardrum.

The boy looked Lily up and down and then smirked, "Yeah, join us if you want." He winked and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Fuck off." Lily spat, her face the very definition of disgust. She then turned her attention to one of her best friends, who was swaying drunkenly propped against Lily's side. "Come on An" She said, her voice turning softer and tender.

"I'd rather find some birds where I don't have to fight against that fucking stick in her arse!" The unnamed boy called after them, spitting on the floor at his feet.

"Lilllyyy." Ana moaned, her feet dragging against the wooden floor. "Lillyyy I am soooooo tired." She put an insane amount of emphasis on every word, and it took all of Lily's strength for her not to laugh.

"I know, I know." Lily hushed, a chuckle managing to escape her mouth. She shifted her grip on the girl, jostling to share her weight evenly.

Suddenly she spotted a familiar blonde bobbing through the crowd in their general direction. "Mar!" Lily called out, her voice coloured with relief.

"Hey Lil," Marlene said, pushing her way through the sweaty, heaving crowd of horny teenagers. "And hello Ana!" Marlene laughed, taking in the sight of the fiery brunette looking so utterly lost.

"Yes, yes she's very drunk." Lily hurried, "I just need you to hold my clutch while I try to find somewhere to prop her up. Preferably away from creepy, perverts." She shot a harsh glare at the fifth year they'd just left behind.

"Sure," Marlene said, unable to hid the laughter still in her voice. The exchange was made and Marlene was once again swallowed by the crowd, leaving Lily alone with Ana.

"Right." She sighed, pulling Ana's arm tighter around her. "How does some fresh air sound?"

"Smurhgakwg." Ana replied, her head lolling as it was unconnected to her neck.

"Outside." Lily gritted her teeth, "We just have to make it outside." She had to hoist the girl closer against her, hobbling through the mass of dancers to make it towards the back door. This door she knew, from previous party experiences, led outside to a small patio with a couple of benches spread out against the wall.

They reached it through Lily's sheer force of will, bearing the brunt of the force as Ana just flopped along beside her like a rag doll. She had to lean Ana against the wall in order to force the stiff door open, the palm of her hand aching where she shoved it against the door.

"Liiiiiilllllyyy." Ana groaned, pressing her hand against her stomach.

"Jeez Ana." Sighed Lily, "Please, please don't throw up. Usually you save that for the morning after."

"Too tired Lil." She said, her voice small and quiet like a little girl.

"I know. Almost there." She gave one last push and the door creaked open, she gave a huge sigh of relief. The end was so very nearly in sight.

"Please try to walk for me Annie." Lily muttered, using the pet name only allowed when Ana was too far gone or too upset to reprimand her.

"Eurgh." She mumbled, grabbing hold of Lily' arm for support and stumbling through the doorway.

They practically fell through the doorway, the door slamming shut behind them; Lily used all her strength to prevent her best friend from face planting against the thick slabs of rock that constituted the floor. Gratefully she gently pushed her friend to a sitting position on a peeling, wooden bench. The drunker girl immediately lay down and curled up against the cold wooden slats, her eyes drooping shut as soon as her head hit the bench.

"Merlin Evans, is she even breathing." Came a voice from behind her.

Lily whirled around to find James Potter, his brown eyes twinkling behind his glasses. His black hair as mussed up as usual, a lit cigarette held between his smiling lips. His mouth twitched as he took in the quite clearly flustered girl who stood in front of him.

"She is thank you very much for asking." She replied, "I know it's _quite_ a miracle when James Potter deigns to concern himself with the likes of us commoners."

"Ah well, I'd hardly call you a commoner Evans." He smirked.

Lily was about to respond, but was interrupted by a muffled groan from the girl lying next to her. Immediately she turned her attention towards her. "Ana?" She called urgently, "Are you okay?

"Sleepy." The girl responded slowly, sounding like she was talking from someplace far away.

Lily laughed, "Sure sweetie. Sleep." She smoothed down the girl's caramel hair as if she was a mother tucking her daughter into bed, Ana mumbled softly and snuggled down onto the hard bench, her eyes fluttering shut.

Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes and chuckle, Ana was a notorious lightweight with a little too much liking for alcohol. It was one of the reasons Lily hadn't wanted to come to the party, she hated seeing one of her best friends go so overboard and be taken advantage. Of course, If Lily had known half of what would happen on that party she would have crawled back into bed with the covers over her head, and stayed there.

Unfortunately for her, she was there. With him.

Said him was still stood behind her, looking amusedly at the two girls in front of him. He mused that the one person who would find him was the one person he was avoiding. Yet he was pulled towards her, like so many times before.

"Are you sure she's okay?" James asked, his voice laced with genuine concern.

Lily sighed, turning around to face him. "Yes, she is."

He smiled a crooked grin, taking another pull on his cigarette if only something to do with his hands. She rolled her eyes, placing a pale hand on her hips. This unwittingly drew his attention to her body, something he may have not been proud of but he was only male. She was wearing a simple dress in a light gold colour, nothing particularly flashy or sexy, which obviously made her more attractive to him. She just didn't even have to try very hard to be the most enticing girl in the room.

At least to him.

Her fiery hair hung loose, falling across her right shoulder and highlighting her creamy skin. Further illuminated by the halter-neck style of her dress, it stopped just before the knee giving the impression that her legs went on for ages.

He chuckled to himself as he realised she wasn't making it easy to forget about her. As quickly as possible he tore his eyes away from her legs and towards her eyes, currently glaring at him.

"You know," She said sarcastically, "You could leave any time you want."

He looked around the deck as if he was considering it. "Nah, I'm perfectly good here thanks."

She resisted the urge to growl in frustration, instead settling for scowling at him. He shrugged at her, feeling his masochistic side in full bloom.

"Honestly," She continued with fake earnest. "I'll even open the door for you, and then all you have to do is walk through." She made a sweeping gesture towards the creaking doorway, tapping her foot impatiently.

He made no move to leave but instead stood his ground, smiling nonchalantly at her. She sighed and stomped over to the door, grappling with the rusty doorknob.

It creaked painfully, the noise jarring against their ear drums. She cursed under her breath, struggling to force the door to open.

"Oh for god's sake!" Lily cried out, futilely shoving her palm against the door in an attempt to make it open.

James sighed, stamping on his cigarette and moving over to help her with the door.

"Come on let me help." James said, placing his hand on the doorknob.

She moved out of the way slightly, her arms folded across her slight frame. She watched over him as he struggled almost as much as she did, trying to shoulder the door open. The hinges made a dangerous squeaking noise as it fought against his weight.

He bent down to peer through the key hole, seeing various shapes flicker past his eyes. He half-heartedly rattled the doorknob but he could see it was no use.

He straightened up, running his hands through his dark hair in mild frustration. "It won't open."

"What do you mean it won't open?" She demanded, "Of course it will open."

He shrugged sort of awkwardly, simultaneously hating and relishing in the situation he was placed in. "When you shut the door behind you it locked." He sighed.

She looked from the door to him in disbelief.

"We're stuck Evans, there's no getting out."

{}

Sirius looked across the room, surveying the scene with an odd sense of melancholy. This was unusual for him. Normally he embraced parties with open arms; he was the main cajoler to force James to come to this one. Parties were his _thing._ James and he were renowned for being the first in their year to throw a party, and for throwing the best.

Yet that night, he wasn't really feeling it.

This was particularly strange considering the girl he was talking to. Natalie Clarke had been laughing at something he said, her head thrown back making her inky cap of hair shine under the artificial lights. She was gorgeous, there was no use denying it. With those sorts of impish lips seeming made for pouting and smirking. Sirius had been vying for her attention for weeks now, and here he had it. Albeit, a slightly drunken version of it.

It took him a few minutes to realise she'd stopped talking.

"Sorry," He shook his head, "you were saying?"

She smiled wryly and looked down at the empty cup in her hand, "I'm going to get a drink Sirius Black. Enjoy the party."

He looked a bit taken aback at her sudden departure, though he did admit he could have been more attentive to what she was saying. In fact, he couldn't even remember what they'd been taking about. Perhaps he'd been staring into space for longer than he thought.

He looked down at the empty cup in his hand, tracing the rim of his cup and looking contemplatively at the dregs of drinks that remained. Maybe a drink would do him good. With that resolved he headed towards the drink table, hoping that the answer to his problems would lie at the bottom of the nearest drink.

Casually he manoeuvred his way through the crowds of inebriated guests and groping teenagers towards a table containing a large punch bowl filled with some vaguely fruity concoction that stank of alcohol. He thought he saw Natalie's short black locks disappearing through the crowd but she disappeared before he could verify it, he couldn't blame her if she was avoiding. He hadn't exactly been the most pleasant person to be around: lost in his own thoughts.

Sirius winced as he took a sip of his syrupy drink, looking across the mass of heaving bodies hoping to find someone not utterly repugnant he could talk to. He knew that James was on the deck, hiding from Lily Evans under the pretence of having a smoke. There was Remus and Peter but he was sure he'd seen Pete rambling about a duel and a drinking game somewhere in the house. No doubt he could go and egg them along, watch Peter get drunk under the table.

Nah, it didn't appeal.

He tapped out a tune on the side of his cup, wondering why the hell he was being such a moody bastard. He knew if James was acting like this, that he would tell him to snap out of it and just have fun. Suddenly he found it very hard to take his own advice.

Everything just seemed boring, same old faces in the same old places.

How Sirius would wish later on that everything had stayed as boring as possible.

He looked to his right, spotting a petite girl he didn't recognise stood alone in the corner. She was oddly pretty. The type of girl that Sirius wasn't normally attracted to. She had bright blue eyes, so big they seemed to take up most of her face, barely leaving any room for her small pink mouth and slight nose. Her hair was a spiralling mass of blonde curls; they didn't seem to have any type of order to them but they framed her face in messy disarray. She looked altogether too _innocent_ for Sirius to have any interest in her.

Yet, he wasn't really being his normal self. Something about her made him curious. He wondered why she was alone, why she was curled up in the corner as if to attract as little attention as she could. He wondered why her lips were downturned and whether or not he would see tears in her eyes if he got any closer. He wondered if she had any friends at this party and if not then why was she here and if she did then where were they.

As each thought crossed his mind he found himself walking closer and closer towards her, his feet moving before his brain properly had time to catch up. Soon he found himself right next to her, so close he could reach out his arm touch hers.

"Hello." He said, clearing his throat somewhat awkwardly.

The girl jumped at the voice, her tiny face turning round to face him, her eyes widening making them seem even bigger. If that was even possible. Yet the strangest thing about it was her expression, she looked extremely terrified.

"Hi." She said, her voice no louder than a whisper.

"I'm Sirius" He replied, holding out his hand as if he meant to shake hers. His eyebrows furrowed at the expression on her face, the abject terror in her eyes.

She looked away from him now, her hand clenching around the plastic cup she held in her hand, as if she'd forgotten it was there. A golden bracelet was fastened around her right wrist, catching the light occasionally. She cleared her throat as if to say something but stopped. Her eyes focused on a point somewhere in the distance.

He cleared his throat, trying to get her attention again. He knew she clearly didn't want to speak to him and it was probably a good idea to leave her alone. But Sirius _couldn't_, he couldn't explain why he couldn't but he just _couldn't. _

She turned her face back to his, the fear replaced by a blank look that may have been scarier to look at. "I'm Violet."

It suited her, the thought came unwanted into his head. Yet it was true. She was pale and delicate looking, the sort of girl Sirius should have stayed far, far away from. He knew this and she probably knew this. Despite this he found himself leaning against the wall, leaning more towards her.

Violet's eyes flashed with an odd emotion, but before he could put his finger on it, it was gone. And so was she.

"I have to go." Her tone was completely devoid of emotion and she avoided eye contact as she wormed her way through the crowd.

Sirius was left gazing after her, wondering who the hell she was and why the hell he found her so intriguing.

{}

"We're stuck!" Lily shrieked, throwing her hands in the air with frustration.

"Yes for the millionth time we're stuck."

"I can't bloody believe it!" She seethed.

Ana stirred behind them, but merely cracked open an eye before going right back to sleep.

"Well we can just use your wand. We are magical you know." He said dryly.

She looked up at his words before her eyes shot wide open; she looked around wildly for a second, like an answer would just suddenly appear before her. "Bloody double fucking shit."

"Language Evans." James trilled, out of habit more than anything else.

"Oh piss off," Lily sighed. "For Merlin's sake I haven't got my wand."

"Haven't got your wand?" He repeated incredulously, "Well where the hell is it?"

"In my clutch," She replied, "Which I gave to Marlene when I had to carry this lump outside for some air." She gestured towards the sleeping girl on the bench beside her, a sour expression on her face.

"Well that's just fucking great." He murmured under his breath.

"Well," She said, "We can just use yours."

No reply came.

"James. I said we can just use yours? Right?"

He tried to ignore the little thump of his heart when she said his name, "Well..." He ran a hand nervously through his hair.

"Tell me we can use your wand..." She replied, her voice getting more and more agitated and high pitched as the seconds ticked by.

"Funny story," He said somewhat sheepishly. "I gave my wand to Peter so that he could have some kind of two wanded duel to prove who was better or something. I'm not really sure."

"So," She began, her voice shaking slightly. "You're telling me, that we are trapped out here. With just each other. With no wand to get us out."

"Sort off." He shrugged, hoping she wouldn't kill him.

"Perfect." She muttered bitterly, slumping to the floor in defeat. She looked heaven ward rather than at James, whose expression was somewhere between amused and annoyed, she vainly hoped that the stars would hold some answers.

The feeling to apologise rose up in James, though he had no idea why. This time, he hadn't actually done anything wrong. Normally things tended to be his fault, but in this case they were both to blame. He tried to shake the feeling off, deciding to sit down next to her instead.

She moved her face away from the sky to turn towards James, a desperate expression gracing her face. "What if we tried banging on the door to get attention?"

"Nah," He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, "Too loud, with the music and the talking you can hardly hear yourself think, let alone too people banging on a door. It'll just blend with the music."

Lily glared at him, trying to convey in that look that it was entirely his fault; she then steadfastly ignored him to bang on the door. The sound echoed in the deck but seemed to make no impact on the people inside.

James sighed, knowing it was futile but wanting to help nonetheless. He joined Lily in banging at the door creating a cacophony of noises that did nothing to attract attention and everything to give them a headache.

"Let us out."

"Help!"

"We're trapped!"

After a few minutes of this James grew tired of the incessant wrapping on the door, something that was getting them nowhere. He stopped, slumping down against the door in defeat, watching as Lily continued to bang against the door: still clinging on to her last hope.

"Lily." He said, trying to get her attention away from the door.

She refused to look at him, staring defiantly at the door as if she could will it open with the force of her hand and the strength of her will. James rolled his eyes at her; she was always stubborn as hell and this time was no exception.

He caught her wrist mid tap, "Lily, for Merlin's sake no one's gonna hear us."

She turned her angry gaze to him, "Well what the fuck are we supposed to do." She threw her arms in the air as a hopeless gesture. Despite this, she stopped the banging. They sat in silence for a few minutes, the only noise the heavy breathing and snuffles of Ana lying asleep on the hard bench.

"I can't believe," Lily murmured, half to herself and half to James. "That I am stuck out here, with you."

"Well it wasn't exactly my first choice either." James replied bitterly, staring at the cold floor beneath him.

"If you just hadn't been here." She muttered, so quietly he wasn't sure if he was meant to hear it.

"Well I'm so sorry for ruining your day." He drawled sarcastically.

She gave him a pointed glare but ignored him, huddling her body closer in so as to conserve heat. James felt a yearning to offer her his jacket, even though he knew she wouldn't take it. She would never take anything from him.

"If you just had your bloody wand." She moaned frustratedly, looking dejectedly at the ground.

"I seem to remember I wasn't the only one without a wand."

"Yes," She allowed, "but I had a perfectly good reason."

He glared incredulously at her, trying to understand how she could simultaneously infuriate and infatuate him. "It wasn't as if I was expecting to be locked out with you, was I!"

"It's bloody common sense Potter!" She cried, knowing she was being a little unreasonable and not caring at all.

"If you want to place blame Evans," He replied, "You were the one who shut the fucking door behind you!"

"You're doing this! You're actually blaming me!"

"Blame where blame is due." He shrugged, regretting his words as soon as they left his mouth. He knew this night would only contribute to Lily's hate for him. He was wrong, although he didn't know it yet.

"If we're talking blame Potter," She spat out his name as if it was a bad taste in her mouth. "Why don't we discuss what happened by the lake!" She wasn't really sure where she was going with this, all the hate and anger that had festered inside her since that fateful day at Hogwarts was streaming out in globs of insults.

"Really? You want to discuss that now?" He cocked an eyebrow at her and she stared him down determinedly. "Fine! You want to talk about it we can talk about it. You want to blame someone! Why don't you place blame on that pathetic rat Snivellus!" They'd scrambled to their feet now, cirlcling each other like two animals looking for a weakness.

"This has nothing to do with him!" She shrieked shrilly. "This has everything to do with you being a bullying bastard with a head so large I'm surprised it doesn't weigh you down on your broomstick!"

"This has nothing to do with Snape," He said disbelievingly. "He was the one, the one who called you a – a..." He stuttered over the last word.

"A mudblood." She said, the word filled with quiet anger.

"I would never, ever call you that." He said, his voice shaking with uncontainable rage.

"Maybe," She replied, "but that doesn't mean you aren't a disgusting toad who gets off on other peoples pain."

He looked at her; he could see in her eyes that she meant what she said. She hated him, she really really did. Of course, this wasn't really news to James. After all, she'd been rejecting him for years and insulting him along with it. But he could see it in her eyes, this time was different.

"I'm sorry," He said, his voice sounding like all the fight had drained out of him. "I'm sorry about what happened with Sniv—erm Snape. I'm sorry you hate me so much."

Her expression faltered slightly, but resolved with just as much anger as before. "Sorry isn't good enough."

"Jeez Evans," He ran one hand through his black hair, a nervous habit he couldn't shake. "Sorry isn't good enough."

She shrugged, avoiding his glare in favour of looking over towards Ana.

"You know," He said, "I reckon you'd even forgive Voldemort and his band of merry followers if they said they were sorry. In fact, you'd probably give him hug and tell everyone he was just misunderstood."

Lily rolled her eyes at his frank description of her, her arms crossed close to her body as if she was trying to hold in the heated insult on the tip of her tongue.

"Not me," He murmured bitterly, "Never me. For anyone else you'd forgive and forget if they just said sorry. Why me Evans? You won't forgive me."

The stared at each other, locked in a battle of wills. A battle about what no one was entirely certain was about, all they knew was that it was nothing good.

Suddenly the door flung open, filling the deck with loud music and flashing lights. A girl stood illuminated in the light from the door, her expression betrayed the oddity of the situation as she looked from James, to Lily, to Ana and back again.

"Marlene!" Lily cried, her voice coloured with relief.

"Erm hey Lily." Marlene said, her confusion showing through in her tone. "You were just gone a while so I came to look for you. Just in case Ana passed out on you or something."

"Thanks Mar," Lily said, looking like she could kiss Marlene with relief.

"Erm, you're welcome?" She replied, suddenly her expression changed from confused to knowing. She noted the close proximity between the two teenagers and the quite frankly crimson cheeks of Lily. "You know, I could just leave: if you two want to be alone..."

"No." Lily all but shouted, the answer leaving her mouth quicker than you could say Avada Kedavra. She shot a glare at James. "We can go, as long as you help me with Ana."

"Sure." Marlene said, raising an eyebrow at James' now foul expression. Although, if she was being honest, James glaring at Lily was not really a new thing: he either scowled at her or gazed at her like a love sick puppy. With the two girls sharing the weight of Ana they managed to manoeuvre themselves out of the room, with Lily rebuffing James's every offer to help and Ana's occasional moans. After a little effort they managed to prop Ana against a wall inside, James loitering somewhere else in the party.

Lily squinted to note the time on the small clock on the wall opposite. "It's nearly three and Ana can barely stand, I reckon it's time to go home."

"Right." Marlene agreed, leaning back against the wall to catch her breath.

"We just need to find Mary." Lily said, eyeing the heaving mass of people she was faced with. It seemed a gargantuan task.

"Liiiiiiiiiiilllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyy." Ana moaned, one glassy eyeball open. "Maaaaarrrr."

Marlene sighed, "Look I'll floo with Ana to hers ahead of you while you find Mary. We can meet there once you've found her."

It seemed like a very sensible idea, considering that a drunken Ana was probably not the best person to be with when you needed to search through a crowd of teenagers. They would be bound to lose her or she would collapse in the middle of the dance floor or something else not at all good would happen. Something not at all good happened anyway.

"Yeah, sounds good." Lily said, "Are you sure you're alright to get her home?"

"Course, one of us had to stay sober. Well, sort of sober." Marlene replied.

"Okay," Nodded Lily, "I'll go find her, stay safe."

"Aye Aye Captain!" Marlene mock saluted, her arm now wrapped around Ana's weight to support her.

With that, Lily was gone and Marlene was left alone with a near unconscious Analeigh.

She carried most of the other girl's weight as they half hobbled half walked towards the nearest fireplace. Ana wobbled and teetered in her skyscraper heels, her eyes nearly rolling back into her head with each step they took. Luckily the fireplace was not surrounded by too many people that they were forced to battle through.

There also was not floo powder disaster either; a small silvery jar clearly contained the emerald green powder they would need to get home. Marlene took a pinch, juggling Ana as she did so. They both stepped into the fireplace, well it was more like Marlene pulled Ana in.

"Mar, think I gonna be sick."

"I swear to god if you throw up on me on the way to yours." Marlene pulled a disgusted face, "Just hold on. Urquart Manor." The last part was not spoken to Ana but instead to the world, Ana clung steadfastly to Marlene as everything began to spin.

And then they were gone.

{}

Lily battled through the crowds, searching for any hint of mousy brown hair that may have belonged to Mary. So far she was having no luck. She had waved manically to girl she thought was her friend only for her to turn round at reveal herself as some unknown seventh year. Lily had blushed furiously and scurried off to another area of the room.

Eventually Lily spotted Sirius leaning on a wall against the makeshift bar; since not many of the people she'd seen were even vaguely familiar, she was glad to see him. Even if he was a bit of a prat. There was also a good chance that he'd seen Mary recently and she needed every chance she could take if she was ever going to leave this party with her friend in tow.

"Oi Black." She called out when she was close enough for him to hear.

He looked up from the drink he was clutching and grinned, albeit a grin that wasn't quite up to Sirius's usually high wattage. "Evans! How've you been? Break James's heart again?"

"Of course not, I doubt he has a heart to break." Lily said, coming to a stop next to him.

Sirius snorted but made no comment, preferring instead to look out across the party.

"I actually came to ask if you've seen Mary?" She continued.

"What? You didn't come here just for my stellar conversational skills?" Sirius replied in mock outrage. It was Lily's turn to snort. "Well sorry to disappoint but I can't say I've seen her."

Lily scowled a bit, wondering how long it would take to find her now and cursing her friends for forcing her to go to the party in the first place.

"Have you tried..." Sirius began, but he never got a chance to finish that question before a loud crash stopped him mid sentence.

The crowd parted, a sea of confused faces looking around to find the cause of the confusion and noise. In the centre of the room a girl stood, her face stuck in a blank mask as she stared straight ahead, looking as if she wasn't seeing anything. Her arm was still stretched out as if she could grasp the shattered bottle of Butterbeer that lay at her feet. Her hand shook as she gazed out in front of her. People began to mutter, some wondering if she was okay and others speculating if she was just really drunk.

Sirius recognised the bright blue eyes and curling mass of blonde hair, it was Violet.

She cleared her throat as if she was about to say something but people had lost attention. They were turning back to their friends and their drinks, paying no attention to the slightly crazy clumsy girl in the middle of the party.

The girl in question raised a wand to her throat, her eyes as utterly blank as they were before; she murmured an incantation under her breath. Her face was now turned towards the milling, distracted crowd.

"Attention." She called out, her voice magically amplified. People looked around confused; the loud booming voice not looking right emitting from such a petite girl. "I am here with a message from the Dark Lord."

The room grew silent, the tense sort of silence that seemed to become a real physical presence that surrounded every available space in the room.

Then the buzzing began.

Panicked muttering turning louder and louder as people looked for the source of the threat. One small teenager ran for the door, his face set in a mask of horror. The nearest door flung shut with a flick of Violet's wand, yet her face remained trained on a spot in front of her. Mass panic was near to breaking out.

"Silence." Violet called out, her voice clear and ringing.

A circle began to form around the girl, people scrambling backwards to avoid contact with her. Everyone's faces mirrored each others. Fear mixed with confusion.

"I have a message from The Dark Lord." She reiterated, "And you may not contact anyone. The floo line is temporarily cut off and, I have the power to destroy you with one word."

She lifted her arm up, a thick gold band was fastened tightly around her wrist, it pulsed and glowed menacingly in the light. No one said anything, it was too much of a risk.

"I require a Mudblood." She called out, "A sacrifice."

The room exploded into talk, taut faces staring at each other in disbelief. Quick words were exchanged with their next door neighbours, nobody knew what to do.

"No." A lone voice cried from the back of the room. Voice soon followed, soft and quiet at first. Then louder. Not everyone, there were a few who were too frightened or too prejudice to respond.

But there was enough.

"You are really so attached to the scum? The filthy mudbloods." The emotionless voice was effective in once more silencing the crowd. "One word and I destroy this place. A mudblood will come with me or we will all die."

The protests died out, fading into nothing like the last note of a long forgotten song.

"I will. I will go with you." A girl stepped forward: pale skin, flushed face, red hair, determined eyes. Lily Evans.

"What are you doing Lily?" Sirius hissed, his hand gripping her arm as she tried to pull her back into the crowd. She shrugged him off and took a step forward.

"Lily no." Sirius repeated more firmly, tugging her back a few steps.

This time she turned to look at him, her green eyes shining with repressed emotion. There was a reason Lily was in Gryffindor: she was not one for stupid acts of pointless courage but for stepping up when real danger was felt. "Let me go Sirius." She said fiercely under her breath.

"Lily you can't!" Came a high pitch shriek from the other side of the room. Figures were being shoved aside as Mary made her way towards the front and the girl in the centre.

"I can. And I will." She replied, her feet carrying her another few inches forward.

"Are you a mudblood?" The girl demanded rather unfeelingly.

Lily gave one sharp nod.

"Good." She held out the hand not holding a wand, the hand where the golden bracelet winked menacingly.

"No. I won't let you take her." The voice came, husky and distraught from only a few feet behind her. James Potter was stood, his eyes burning as he raised his wand and pointed it straight at Violet's forehead.

"Potter," Lily said coldy, "You'll kill us all, just, just let me go." Her voice broke on the end, betraying the battle of emotions occurring inside her.

"Merlin Lily, if there's ever a time for first names. It's now." James said, leaning back on their familiar relationship.

Lily rolled her eyes and turned her head back to the girl, moving forward.

"I'm warning you." James said, taking his own step forward.

"Oh I wouldn't do that." Violet said tonelessly; as quick as a flash she reached forward and span Lily round, creating an iron lock around her waist. Her wand was pressed harshly into the temple of Lily's head, so hard it would create indentations on the skin.

James faltered, she'd moved to quickly for him to react without endangering Lily, she had her now. His wand remained pointed at Violet's head, his face torn and pained.

"I think that settles this." The messenger said. The crowd were shocked into silence, Sirius drew forward at touched James's arm; James flinched at the contact but stepped back. Across the circle Mary was frozen, her face stuck in the dark expression of horror and pain as silent tears of disbelief streamed down her face.

"Lily," Mary whispered. "I-I..."

Lily laughed humourlessly, "Me too Mary. Me too."

"All sorted," Violet said, stepping backwards with Lily, her wand still jammed against her head. Everyone's eyes followed them as they stepped further and further backward until they touched a door. Without removing her eyes from ahead she removed the arm that restrained Lily, keeping her wand trained on her, and opened the door. They stepped through the door and it slammed shut between them.

Leaving them trapped on the other side of the door.

{}

The first sound that emerged when the door shut was James. "What the fuck are we going to do?"

People's eyes swivelled around to stare at each other, each hoping that the other person would hold the answer that would save them from this mess. Because, frankly, they had no chance.

They were so utterly unprepared people would've laughed if the situation hadn't been so far from funny. They were a bunch of teenagers, half of them had no wand and the other half was drunk. And up until that moment Voldemort had seemed like a far off threat, a story told to scare children and ensure they didn't stray of the right path.

Now he was real, he was there and he was dangerous. And no one had any idea what to do.

Mary's eyes hardened, her cheeks still stained with tear tracks as she stepped towards James. "I'll check if the Floo works, it may have been unblocked."

James nodded once at her, unable to produce anything more sympathetic. "What about Apparating?" He raised his voice so the whole crowd could hear, "Can anyone here Apparate?"

A few people nodded and raised their hands, James suddenly switched into Quidditch Captain mode as he spoke. This was what he knew: how to lead a team. "Right, try to Apparate. If you can't we know they've put wards up.

"Someone try the door." Sirius said, quickly following James's lead and supporting him, just like a game of Quidditch.

The girl nearest to it crept forward; staring at the door like it would suddenly attack her. Tentatively she turned the door knob quietly, it was as if the whole world stopped as everyone stared at the door. It didn't budge.

"Try Alohomora." Someone in the crowd suggested, but it made no difference as the door remained firmly stuck.

By this time Mary had reached the fireplace and was desperately trying to get into to work. She threw the green powder into the fire, closing her eyes as if she could wish it to work. "Ministry of Magic!" She cried out, the flames spluttered and turned a blazing green for a few seconds before fizzling out.

It was hopeless.

She frustratedly wiped the tears away with the back of her hand, refusing to look weak. "The Floo network is still down." She called, her voice shaking slightly.

"Damn it," James muttered under his breath, pacing backwards and forwards in a desperate hope to come up with an idea.

"James." Sirius said, trying to grab him as he passed. "James, calm down. Just think and breathe. We can come up with something."

He stopped pacing and instead stared unseeingly at the ground, his mind whirring as he tried to think. The crowd surrounded them whispering and muttering. They were locked in a house with who knew how many wards surrounding them. The situation was dire.

"We're running out of time!" James growled, slamming his hand against his forehead. "Think! Think! Think!"

The sound seemed to buzz around him, whirling around him and surrounding him as his brain worked overtime to figure out how the hell they could solve this unsolvable problem.

"Everyone shut up!" He cried out, tried to focus, people grew silent. "I've got it. Goddamn it Sirius, I've got it."

Sirius's face lit up for a second before turning urgent, he stepped forward to grip James's forearms. "What James? What?"

"House elves." James murmured, his voice marvelling. "They can get through the wards. Kreacher?" His voice lilted up hopefully at the end.

"No," Sirius stepped back, "Too risky, I don't know if we could trust him."

James cursed underneath his breath, "Right." He raised his voice so the entire crowd could hear. "Who here has a house elf?"

A boy maybe a year or two older than them raised his hand, stepping towards James and Sirius. "I do, we have one down at Bones Manor. Daisy, I can call Daisy."

James let out the first grin in what seemed like days, though in reality it was probably only hours. "Perfect."

{}

Lily stumbled into the room after Violet, barely resisting the urge to start shaking or screaming. As she stood up and caught her breath she saw the other girl was already standing stock still, her wand still aimed directly at Lily.

This managed to get Lily to stand up straight, the fear forcing her to look the girl directly in the eye. She would not let her know that she was afraid, not until she was dead or tortured would she let the girl know she had won. Even if the war had only just begun.

"You are the hostage," Violet said, "The Dark Lord requires a Mudblood to make an example of. When you're friends are worked up enough we leave, and you will be publicly executed to let the world know to listen to our Lord Voldemort."

"I least I won't die for nothing." Lily said defiantly, "You think you can win but you can't. Using puppets to do your work," She pointed to Violet, "You are merely a pawn in their games, charmed into submission. This isn't the way you win a war. I may die but others will live and fight and win."

"Stupid, filthy..." The girl said, but then faltered. Her mouth opening and closing as if she was gasping for air but no words came out. The gold band burned so brightly Lily shielded her eyes as a reflex.

Suddenly Violet's eyes flashed gold too and she shook her head as if she was trying to dislodge something stuck in the recess of her brain. "I... I. What?" Her eyes were fuzzy and clouded, but there were no longer chillingly blank.

"Are you okay? Are you here?" Lily said urgently, stepping closer and letting hope colour her tone. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance she was free from whatever was holding her.

"I don't.." Her eyes flashed gold once more, the bracelet mimicking it. Her wand snapped to attention once much and she raised her head higher, jabbing her wand at Lily. "Stay away from her you filthy Mudblood." She spat. Her eyes no longer held any expression.

Lily looked down disappointedly at her feet; she'd lost the slim chance she had to survive. And this girl had no chance to retain her free will.

"Fine." Lily said, taking a step backwards to avoid being speared by the end of her wand.

"We will be gone soon. And our kind will be eradicated." Violet said stiltedly.

"Our kind?" Lily asked, anything to keep the girl talking and to prolong both their lives.

"Disgusting Mudbloods and half-bloods." The girl replied. "Disgust..."

Her bright blue eyes widened until they took up most of her face as the words she was about to say became stuck in her throat. Once more there were flashes of gold. "I'm... Oh Merlin."

She looked down in horror at the golden band attached to her wrist, "Oh Merlin." She looked up from her wand to Lily and back again. "I'm so sorry, I am so so sorry. They... I need to tell you the plans, it's in my head. They're..."

Lily stared intently at her, moving closer towards her with concern and eagerness.

"They're..." Violet reiterated, her voice shaky. The bracelet pulsed and glowed as she spoke, she looked down at her wrist and her face twisted. "They've activated it. Step back."

Lily looked alarmed but jumped back, "Are you okay?"

Violet looked up skywards as Lily spoke, unseeing and unhearing, the band wouldn't stop glowing into the dark room. She opened her mouth as if to shout, but nothing came out. The girl sank to her knees, her features contorting until she no longer resembled an ordinary human being.

Lily screamed.

* * *

**A/N:**I know, I know. Yet more unanswered questions, but I _swear_ some are answered in the next chapter.

Reviews are thinking it's Friday when it's actual Saturday so you go back to bed.

Clara x


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